Isaac Greener

"You should not go through what we did."

Date of birth

03/10/1918

Where were you born?

Charnow, Poland

Where did you grow up?

Charnow, Poland

Name of father, occupation

Mordechai, Butcher

Maiden name of mother, occupation

Chai Sorah (died when I was 10), Homemaker

Immediate family (names, birth order)

Parents, Ben (oldest brother), my twin brother Samuel and I, and our sister who died in the Holocaust

Who survived the Holocaust?

Ben, Samuel and me. Ben survived as a member of the Polish Army. Samuel survived, came to the USA for two years and then to Munich, Germany.

In Cracow, I was “A Schindler Jew.” I was once beaten for being found eating rotten potato peel from the garbage. I was liberated by the Americans. My brother Sam heard I was in Feldafing DP camp and joined me. I was married while at Feldfing and in 1947 our first son Morry was also born there. In 1949, my wife Genia, Morry, and I emigrated to the United States. We were also on the list for Israel and decided to go to whatever came first. Our boat was called “The General Balloon.” We came to Detroit because we had cousins here, Henry and Rose Greener. Our son Harry was born four years after Morry.

Name of Ghetto(s)

Cracow (Krakow)

Name of Concentration / Labor Camp(s)

Krakow Plaszow / Ospanhoff/Julag

What DP Camp were you after the war?

Feldafing, Germany DP camp

Where did you go after being liberated?

To the United States

When did you come to the United States?

1949

Where did you settle?

Detroit, Michigan

How is it that you came to Michigan?

I had cousins here, Rose and Henry Greener

Spouse

Genia

Children

Morry, retired commercial real estate broker in West Bloomfield; Harry, works for Channel 7 as a TV Videographer, lives in Commerce Township

Grandchildren

Four: Morry and Susan have Adam and Melissa, Harry and Eileen have Bryan and Dayna; Four great-grandchildren: Adam has Maggie and Teagan, Dayna has Joey and Dylan

What do you think helped you to survive?

Hard work and luck. The will to live.

What message would you like to leave for future generations?

You should not go through what we did.